Such a bottle treatment system is known from the generic DE 199 28 325. The bottle treatment system is composed of three subsequently arranged machines, which are a stretch blow molding machine with preceding preform feed, a rinsing machine in the form of a rinser as well as a filling machine with an integrated closing station. Each of these machines is protected by a housing whereby a protective region is defined for each of these machines. The machine is designed as a carousel-type machine, in particular as a rotary star, where adjacent machines of two adjacent protective regions are connected via a transport device that exceeds the protective region to ensure a bottle transport path from the one machine to the other machine. Each of the machines comprises an individual drive. Here, the transport device can be either connected to the drive train leading from the drive to the machine to easily obtain a synchronous run between the machine and the transport device, or it comprises a separate drive.
From DE 24 36 591, a further bottle treatment system is known which comprises a filling and closing machine and a downstream labeling machine. A transport device for transferring the bottles is also arranged between these machines. The filling and closing machine provided in a first protective region is driven via a main motor, where the main motor in parallel drives the labeling machine in the adjacent second protective region via a main drive train. In the second protective region, an auxiliary motor as a drive of the labeling machine is provided in addition to be able to auxiliarily drive the labeling machine independently of the filling and closing machine. For this, the main drive train comprises a clutch which separates the labeling machine from the main drive of the filling and closing machine. The transport device is furthermore connected at the main drive train, so that the transport device is also driven via the main drive. The transport device comprises two transport elements embodied as carousel-type elements, the first transport element being connected to the drive train on the side of the filling and closing machine and the second transport element on the side of the labeling machine. A separation of the drive of the two machines via the clutch also causes a separation of the drive of the transport elements.
Another bottle treatment system is disclosed in DE 25 07 419. In this bottle treatment system, too, an independent drive of the filling and closing machine as well as of the labeling machine is realized via an auxiliary motor arranged in the protective region of the labeling machine and a disconnect-type clutch and shifting clutch. The disconnect-type clutch or shifting clutch is actuated with delay if a monitoring device provided in the bottle treatment system reports a closed condition of a bottle lock which prevents further feed of bottles to the filling and closing system, so that the filling and closing machine as well as the labeling machine can run empty. The bottle treatment system further comprises a transport device arranged in the transitional area of the protective regions defined by the filling and closing machine as well as the labeling machine with two transport elements which is driven along via the main drive of the filling and closing machine. The first transport element is connected with the filling and closing machine on the driving end, while the second transport element is connected on the driving end of the labeling machine.
With DE 25 06 409, a further bottle treatment system is disclosed, which only differs from the abovementioned ones in that a conveyor screw for transferring the bottles from the first transport element to the second element is inserted between the two transport elements of the transport device. Here, too, the transport device is, as the transport devices described above, driven via the main drive provided in the protective region of the filling and closing machine.
For cleaning and maintaining the machines of the bottle treatment systems, the protective regions are generally embodied to be accessible. However, to be able to carry out such works directly at the machines or the transport devices, respectively, the drives of the machines have to be switched off for safety reasons and for protecting the personnel to prevent the risk of injuries to the personnel. Thus, during access to the protective region, the drives associated with the protective region are automatically shut off by switches that monitor the entrances. Here, there arises a problem in particular in the transitional region of adjacent protective regions, where usually the transport device for transferring the bottles from the one to the next machine is provided, in that the personnel must be protected from an operation of the transport device if, for example, parallel maintenance and cleaning operations must be performed independently at the machines arranged in the adjacent protective regions. For minimizing conversion, maintenance and fault clearing times, it occurs that a machine has to be operated for example for sample or test runs, i.e. the driven parts of this machine rotate while the driven parts of the other machine stand still to be able to perform required operations directly at the machine components of this machine. For example, the machine is rotated in the first protective region for cleaning purposes while wearing parts have to be replaced at the machine in the adjacent protective region. In the process, the personnel working at the machine in the second protective region must be protected in particular from an operation of the transport device that exceeds the protective region. This is in general achieved in that a mechanical protection is built around the transport device. This measure, however, is very time consuming, leads to delays during the cleaning or maintenance operation, respectively, and is very cost-intensive due to the provision of the mechanical protection.